The Inheritance
by Mr Ocean
Summary: Since I'm not prepared to sit around waiting for Series Three, this one starts shortly after the end of Series Two. Maury Parkman has used his abilities to escape custody and sets about helping Adam Monroe "bring down" the Company.
1. Chapter 1

There were few things Alice Peyton hated more than algebra. Sucking the end of her ballpoint pen between her gapped teeth, she tried to find the mistake that meant Trains A and B met before either of them had left their respective stations, at around negative 3 am. Her thought process wasn't helped by the dull chatter of the TV set she'd left on for company. Babysitting was easy money, but could get a bit lonely after bedtime.

She was almost relieved to hear a gentle knock at the door. Putting a wary eye to the peephole, she saw a middle-aged man, grey, balding and utterly unremarkable. His shabby dress and the funhouse mirror proportions of the peephole lent him a comical appearance. She thought it safe enough to chain the door and open it slightly.

'Hi,' she said, simply, 'Can I help you, sir?' Alice's other job, at a fast food restaurant, affected her interactions and demeanour more than she realised.

'A baby-sitter?' replied the stranger, obviously feigning surprise. His appearance was now less comical and verging on threatening. She noticed he wore a very heavy pack on his back. 'I'm Matt's dad, Maury. He said I should come by tonight. Watch the game. Guess he changed his mind. Can I come in for a second anyway? Use the phone?'

Alice felt some strong misgivings. There was something penetrating about Maury's fixed gaze, and even if he was telling the truth she considered locking the door and calling 911, or at least Matt. He was a detective, that much she knew, so Matt was bound to have an enemy or too. Notwithstanding all this, it suddenly dawned on her that she should unchain the door and let Maury in. Without really knowing why, she did so.

Alice kept her eyes fixed on Maury. She wanted what he could possibly want, and what had come over her.

'Don't worry about me,' said Maury, calmly, almost in response to her thoughts. 'I'll just help myself.' He made no attempt to get a glass of water, instead walking straight into Molly's bedroom.

Alice no longer doubted that she needed to call for help. She reached into the pocket of her jeans for her cell and instead withdrew a pencil. Checking her surroundings again, she realised that she was, in fact, at school, and had an algebra paper sitting right in front of her. Worse still, the questions were written in what appeared to be hieroglyphs. She must have missed that class. Everybody else seemed to be doing fine.

The now sleeping Alice crashed to the floor, Maury's power forcing her into what he considered a fairly charitable nightmare. At least she'd be motivated to study. The thump woke Molly with a start, and when the first thing she saw was the Nightmare Man, her immediate instinct was to scream.

Before she could make a sound, Maury persuaded her that screaming was unnecessary. He drew a weathered four by five photograph from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Molly looked at the picture, and saw a young, lean, handsome man with blond hair and fair skin.

'Find him,' Maury said curtly. A little telepathy spurred her along.

Molly got up, went to her atlas, and began flipping through pages. Before long, she pointed out Japan, and the island of Honshu. Maury reached into his bag and fumbled through several street directories until he found a Japanese street directory. With this, Molly was able to pinpoint Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo. Maury smiled. Should be easy to find Adam Monroe's thoughts if everybody else is dead.

'Thanks, Molly,' he mumbled. 'Don't tell anyone I was here. Pleasant dreams.'

With that, Maury turned and left. Molly was forced into sleep; it was the last place she wanted to be.


	2. Too Early

Matt Parkman was indignant when his alarm woke him at 6:45am the next morning. Five hours sleep was scarcely enough, especially after the day he'd had. He'd made no progress in the hunt for Nathan's assassin and was running out of leads. He hit the floor and punched out twenty painfully slow push-ups, every joint in his upper body clicking like a sheet of bubble wrap.

The milk in his fridge had started to sour but he figured a bit of sugar on his muesli would cancel it out. He was glad it was Friday; he needed a weekend with a few good action movies. Guys like Bruce Willis made the whole not-getting-killed thing look so easy.

Picking up the morning paper, he flicked straight to the Sport and checked the scores from last night's game. Quickly putting the paper back down, he wondered if it would be ethical to use his powers to rig a game. He decided the answer was an unfortunate 'no'.

Molly was awake, earlier than usual. Matt found it hard to believe how much a kid could sleep, feeling more than a little sorry for himself.

'Morning, Molly,' he said, trying to prompt a response.

'Good morning, Matt,' she replied.

'Did you have fun with Alice last night?' he asked, pleased that he'd managed to find a conscientious babysitter. Alice was so worried that Matt would find out she'd fallen asleep on the job that she could think about nothing else when he got home.

Molly gave no reply. She wanted to tell Matt that his father had visited last night, but she couldn't. Her fear of the Nightmare Man, fortified by his telepathic command, was too compelling. Matt resisted the temptation to simply read Molly's thoughts. He knew the pair had to have boundaries if she was to feel safe, and reading even a child's mind was incredibly invasive, diary reading to the nth degree. She took a bowl from the cupboard, checked the milk, and tossed it into the trash. Putting some toast on, she picked up the newspaper and began to read.

Molly had begun to have nightmares again earlier in the week. Since they seemed to be focused on her time at the Company, Matt hoped his father wasn't involved.

'Are you just going to eat that dry?' Matt asked Molly, a little concerned as she battled to chew the plain toast. 'You want some peanut butter or something?'

'Matt, we haven't had been peanut butter since Mohinder moved out. Why don't you ever shop?'

'I shop,' he asserted. 'I just don't use a list.'

'For someone who can read minds, you sure don't have a great memory of your own.'

'Watch it,' said Matt, playfully, but he could sense that Molly was just putting up a front. The nightmares must have been worse than he thought. 'Anything interesting happen here last night?'

'No.'

'You sure? Alice said she fell asleep really suddenly, and you know who that reminds me of.'

Molly, again, said nothing. This time, Matt couldn't help but find out what she was thinking.

… dad … gave me a picture … found a man 

Molly's thoughts were a mess, but Matt pounced.

'My dad? He was here? Why didn't you tell me?'

i can't … controlling my mind Matt … i can't 

Molly's nose had begun to bleed, and she wiped it with the sleeve of her pyjamas. Matt hugged her and tried to soothe her.

'It's okay, Molly, I won't let him hurt you. It's going to be okay'.


	3. A Step Ahead

Matt held the phone in his hand and took a deep breath. Keep your enemies close, Parkman, he thought to himself as he dialled the number Bennet had left him when he and Claire came to visit Nathan. The smug superiority of the man infuriated him at times, but there was no doubt that if he hadn't brought Claire and let her give Nathan her blood, things would not have worked out so well for him. He knew the Company had to be behind the assassination attempt; it had certainly been enough to keep Nathan quiet, which matched the Company's interests, but in this case the Company's interests aligned with his. If he could convince Bennet to help him track down his father and Adam Monroe, the man Molly had described from the photograph, he might just be able to control enough minds to let Nathan go public, this time without the inconvenience of being shot in the chest.

'Hello.' The voice was nauseatingly calm.

'Bennet?'

'Yes.'

'This is Matt Parkman.'

'I may not be a mind-reader, Parkman, but I can pick your voice.'

It was Bennet's way of asserting his control, making you think he was always a step ahead. Unfortunately, he usually was.

'We have a problem,' said Parkman.

'You mean Parkman Senior? We're already on it.'

Matt realised this was no cause for surprise. 'He was here last night, looking for…'

'Adam Monroe?'

'Yes, how did you…'

'I hate to break it you, Parkman, but your father's never been one to think for himself. He's a follower. A disciple. But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous.'

'I can help.'

'How? With police resources?'

'I know where Adam Monroe is.'

'Then we need to meet. Are you in New York?'

'So am I. I'll send Dr Suresh to pick up Molly. If we need to travel, pack your bags.'

Mohinder had moved out when he realised that living with a telepath might compromise his work at the Company, but he still kept in close touch with Molly.

'We do.'

'We'll meet at that diner next door to your apartment in half an hour. Crazy Joe's.'

'Okay. See you then.'

Bennet hung up, and Matt packed a toothbrush. He was glad to postpone grocery shopping, but wasn't exactly keen on sharing a plane with Bennet and whoever his new partner happened to be. He phoned the station claimed that he was sick in his best laryngitis impersonation, and headed for the diner.


End file.
